King John is considered one of the worst King’s that England ever had. He is most famous for the
signing of the Magna Carta, a decree that limited the power of the King, ensured fuedal rights
and also stated that no man including the King was above the law. His reign was considered
to have been chaotic and disastrous, however in 1216 inside of Newark Castle
inside of the gatehouse John died from a particularly nasty bout of dysentry. However
there were rumours that emerged after his death that in fact, the King had been killed
in rather brutal fashion. So join us today as we look at, ‘The painful death of King
John of England,’ and remember to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
John was born in Christmas around 1166 in Oxford,
and he was the youngest and favourite son of King Henry II. When his father passed away in 1189,
his brother Richard became the King of England and King Richard I. John was given gifts of land,
titles and money following his father’s dead, however Richard in 1190 regarded his nephew
Arthur as the heir to the throne. Richard I was imprisoned in Germany in 1193,
and during this John tried to take control of the throne of England,
but he failed to do so, and when Richard returned the following year, John was banished from the
country. However the two brothers made up, and when Arthur was captured and taken prisoner, John
was made the heir to Richard’s throne. In 1199, Richard passed away and then John became the King.
War with France continued and began again, which was triggered by John’s second marriage
to Isabella the Countess of Angouleme. She had already been engaged to a prominent French noble,
and the marriage threatened the interests of the French royal family. John treated these with
contempt and this resulted in an uprising that was crushed by King John initially, but war did break
out. By 1206, John had lost Normandy, Anjou and other important parts of France and these failures
led many to question his suitability to rule in England. It damaged his reputation massively,
and John was determined to win these back, but in order to do so he needed a large amount of money
to continue to go to war with France. For this, he began to impose rather harsh taxes, and his
government were ruthless in obtaining them which caused a rather big problem with his popularity.
People in England did not like paying extra taxes,
and many of them could not afford to pay. However in England, the Barons who presided over large
amounts of land were incredibly unhappy with John and his new taxes. John exploited his power
and rights to take as much as he wanted, and the Barons were furious. Eventually they went
to war with the monarchy, and the rebel Barons took many different strategic castles and sites.
The Barons even invited the French King to England to help them take the fight to John,
and lead them and it was said that the French King did have a claim to the throne.
In 1215, John was forced to negotiate with the rebels
when they seized London and on the 19th June 1215 he accepted the terms put forward by the Barons
and was forced to sign Magna Carter, or the Great Charter that limited his powers,
and ensured that the King was not above the law. It was the first formal document
stating that the monarch was under the rule of the country as much as his people were,
and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld, even if the King did not like this.
This settlement was deemed impractical, as John claimed that it was signed under Duress and the
Pope took his side, and John then laid waste and rampaged through the northern counties
and the Scottish border region. When Louis of France did invade, John continued to fight the
Barons however in October 1216, everything changed for the much reviled and hated King of England.
In October 1216, John was travelling across England with a number of his followers and he
stopped to rest at the abbey of Swineshead in the Lincilnshire Fens. In the treacherous Fens
he had lost half of his baggage, and when he arrived the residents of the abbey
quickly scrambled to find food and accomodation to the King.
It’s believed that John may even had lost the English Crown Jewels in his travels at this time,
and its been suggested that some of these even fell into the Wash, whilst he crossed the water.
Some rumours have emerged about what occured inside of the abbey.
One is that inside of the house, John was poisoned by the monks who found the King to
be very arrogant. It was believed that the abbot did not want to host John, and that the King’s
reputation for cruelty and spite and even murder did not sit well with the monastic order. John
ate the food and drank with the monks, and one allegation is that John was poisoned by the monks
which had been extracted from toads, and this poison was considered deadly.
However at some point, the King did leave the Abbey and it’s not entirely confirmed
what emerged at the abbey, and he continued on to Newark Castle a short while away.
It’s believed that John met his end near or very close to a toilet
inside of Newark Castle in October 1216. It’s mostly believed that John died from dysentry,
a disease and illness that causes serious diarrhoea and eventually death. It was believed
that John had been ill for quite some time before he came to settle in Newark for a short time. The
rumours state that he could have been poisoned, or that he was brought down by eating unripe peaches
which poisoned him and made him sick, or also that he could have drank too much sweet ale
which also made him ill. It was said that, ‘To say John died of overindulgence was a way of
criticising his personality, it implies intemperance, gluttony and imprudence.
To say he was poisoned showed he was hated. Whatever the truth, those writing down history
had nothing to say about John.’ Dysentry is caused by parasites in the gut, and it’s most
commonly spread by consuming dirty water or food that has been contaminated with human
waste. It was not necessarily a condition of the common people who lived in unsanitary conditions,
as lots of food and vegetables had been grown in soil which was fertilised by human waste.’
It’s likely that the King who had been marching across the country and was most probably
physically and emotionally exhausted succumbed to his fate from dysentry. It was a condition that
could affect anyone, for example Edward I died from it as he went to renew his war with Robert
the Bruce in 1307, and it could also have caused the death of Edward the Black Prince. Dysentry
also killed the hero of Agincourt, Henry V whilst he was fighting in France. John was regarded as a
cruel King who punished his people and made their life rather miserable, but today dysentry kills
many still around the world as sewer systems and water systems are not very advanced. He
died on around the 19th October 1216. It’s likely that it was inside the gatehouse of Newark Castle,
or in a room that was fitted with a functioning toilet following having a fest at the castle.
Following John’s death, his body was taken south by a group of mercenaries
where he was buried inside of Worcester Cathedral. There is some debate as to what caused his death,
was it drinking dirty water or eating vegetables contaminated with human waste,
or was it due to overeating. There is a tradition that John died from eating too many peaches,
or was he infact poisoned by monks or other people who wished to end his reign.
John has been described as being distasteful and even dangerous,
and also spiteful and very cruel. From this John remains a very controversial figure in history,
with most people considering that he was infact the very worst King that England has ever had. The
fact he went to war with the barons and was forced to sign a charter that limited his power and
ensured he was not above the people with regards to the law signifies what a terrible king he was.
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